The present invention relates to a label printer for printing a bar code.
In the retail business and also in the merchant firms, goods or articles are labelled with a bar code, such as EAN-code (or UPC-code), which stands for European Article Numbering. The code identifies the article and its origin. The code is composed of a plurality of bars having different width and spaces, which stand for or symbolize figures or digits, which also normally are printed adjacent the bar code, preferably below the same. The bar code is optically read, either by passing the parcel or article over a fixed optical reader or by passing an optical read pencil over the code. A computer tells the operator the price of the article and uses the information for statistical information on the stock, the stock content and so on.
At the labelling of goods packeted at the factory, the manufacturer (importer/exporter) provides the articles with the appropriate bar code which is unique for each article, whereupon the code follows the article during the whole handling thereof.
As to goods which are weighed and packeted on site, the code can define the price, the weight or the like. In this case e.g. five figures of the code are used for the price labelling, while the remaining figures as previously define the producer, the country or the like.
However, existing label printers for a bar code are comparatively slow. The object of the present invention is to provide a label printer capable of printing labels at a higher speed and with improved quality, and which can print the bar code and also further information on the label.
The label printer according to the invention is suitable for use at an electronic weighing machine, which weighs the goods and outputs the necessary information to the label printer. The weighing machine and the label printer can be arranged at a conveyor or at a manual weighing station.
Thus, there is a need of a fast label printer which can be connected to an electronic weighing machine at a conveyor or at a station. The label printer should also be able to be used in ordinary bar code labeling and thus be able to accept information from a keyboard or an external computer.